The Heart Of The Matter
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: "Forgiveness. Forgiveness. Even if, even if, you don't love me anymore." Seth ends up kicked aside by Ashley after hurting Amanda again... but when Ashley finds out something life changing, does she try to handle it on her own or will she give Seth another chance? And will Seth be able to mend things with Amanda? (Co-written with werewolf-queen-022 and Cry-Of-A-Warp-Engine)
1. Too Much To Take

_**Two weeks ago…**_

" _Well, I hope you're happy with yourself! Mandy's head is split open and her right shoulder is taped up!" Ashley responded._

" _Ash, it was an accident!" Seth replied._

" _Accident my ass! You promised me that you would change your behaviour towards her!" Ashley yelled._

" _How can I try to be nice when she's flat out ignoring me?!" Seth shouted out of frustration._

" _You treat her and Finn so damn badly, can you really fault her for wanting space?! Finn told me that Mandy doesn't feel safe around you!" Ashley shouted. "But I'm no longer going to be sitting around waiting for you to change. You and me are done, for good this time!"_

 _Ashley stormed off and went to check on Amanda and Finn… when she pulled the curtain open, the bruised and stitched up brunette looked at her… Amanda's right arm was in a black sling and there were 10 stitches in her forehead from the Curbstomp._

" _You okay?" Ashley asked quietly._

" _Everything hurts…" Amanda responded as Finn held her._

" _You're gonna be fine kiddo. He's not gonna hurt you or anyone again." Ashley said._

 _Amanda and Ashley hugged… and Amanda honestly hoped that things were calming down with Seth gone._

 _But that thought lingered at the back of her mind…_

 **Present time,** _ **9/21/15**_ **…**

"Damn it, what the fuck is wrong with my crop top?!" Ashley muttered as she put on the red and orange crop top and finding it wasn't fitting properly.

"Ash, I think you might want to get it resized." Amanda responded gently, standing up and guarding her shoulder… the rotator cuff was bruised and Ashley knew it would be a while before she was cleared.

"This is the top I wear as Phoenix, it should fit. I've had this for god knows how long." Ashley said.

"Some of my Demon Mistress outfits don't fit at times. Maybe you're near your cycle this week." Amanda responded, Ashley nodding in agreement.

"Well at least now it does look like I have bit more of a chest instead of small boobs." Ashley said.

Amanda glanced at her phone, seeing a text from Finn.

"He's checking on me again… I'm gonna head back to the locker room." Amanda responded before they hugged, half of a hug in Amanda's case.

After Amanda left, Ashley checked her phone… counting the days on her calendar app, she saw that she was about 5 days late.

"Stupid stress." Ashley muttered.

She headed to the medical cabinet and grabbed a few tests.

' _Just to rule it out.'_ Ashley thought.

Amanda walked into the locker room, her and Finn hugging… and he saw the worry in her eyes.

"I don't think Ashley will be wrestling tonight… and I don't think Seth used protection with her last time." Amanda responded, Finn turning startled.

"You don't actually think that do you?" Finn asked.

"He's a damn idiot at times. Leighla had scares before because Seth didn't use protection with her every time." Amanda responded, Finn helping her sit down. "Matt and Jeff are gonna fucking lose their minds… I wouldn't blame Ashley one bit if she hires a lawyer and strips Seth of his parental rights." She muttered as Finn lightly ran the fingers on his right hand through her shoulder length hair.

"If the courts deem him unfit, that could happen. And with how he's been unwilling to control his anger, that'll hurt his chances of joint custody." Finn responded.

"Courts take that serious to try to prevent domestic and child abuse… I don't think he'd hurt a child but Ashley's not gonna risk her baby's safety." Amanda replied as Finn held her close to him.

At the same time, Ashley looked at the tests… and all three read _Positive_ in their display screens.

' _Hunter, I can't compete tonight.'_

' _I knew something was off. Okay, you take the night off and tell me everything later.'_ Hunter replied.

' _Yeah will do.'_ Ashley texted, before she wiped a couple tears away.

It was as Seth was watching Raw that he saw that it was Alicia Fox in what he knew was Ashley's match against Becky… and headed to Hunter's office, walking in.

"Problem, Seth?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah why isn't Ashley in that ring?" Seth asked.

"You did hurt her Seth and when she's hurt she lashes out. She's not competing because she's doesn't feel right at the moment." Hunter said.

Seth nodded and left… and sent out a text to Amanda.

Only to receive an automated text message that his number was blocked.

"That's a big sign to back off."

Seth turned around, seeing Luke.

"What are you spying on me now?!" Seth demanded.

"Watch your tone, I can quite easily throw you through a wall. Got a question, why do you care if Ashley is in the ring or not?" Luke said.

"I still care about her!" Seth responded.

"Well the last person you claimed to care about now has her arm in a sling and had stitches in her head. Accidental force, my ass, you enjoyed hurting Mandy and making her scream!" Luke replied.

"She overreacted to get Finn's attention! I bet she's faking the severity of her shoulder injury!" Seth yelled, Luke grabbing him by his right ear and making Seth yell out in pain.

"Wanna see fake? Then you better go grab a mirror boy!" Luke said, yelling the last part.

A sickening thud echoed, making Finn and Amanda jump.

"Yeah, someone just got thrown through a wall…" Amanda responded quietly.

"Yeah don't piss off the one man who brought Braun down to his knees." Finn said.

"And that was in a eight man tag match." Amanda replied as Finn held her before they stretched out on the couch.

It was later at the hotel that Amanda was having trouble settling into sleep… and Finn knew it was from her injury.

But he also knew it was from all the chaos that had happened.

"What if he tries to take the baby from her?" Amanda responded quietly.

"Ashley would kill him first before he gets to her baby." Finn said.

"She would… I just don't understand why he didn't think to use protection. Ashley's on birth control but it could've failed…" Amanda replied, Finn lightly rubbing his hand up and down her back.

"You're right, Seth is an idiot. He never thinks things through." Finn responded.

"I don't think they'll be able to get along for the baby's sake… it's not how it was before." Amanda replied, Finn kissing her on the top of her head before they closed their eyes.

And he knew that Ashley had no intentions on telling Seth.


	2. Life's Changes

Ashley was at a Women's health clinic the next morning, having been examined by a doctor… and hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time.

"I knew it, she's gonna be one tough girl when she's born." Ashley said.

"Strong little one… I'm gonna write a prescription for prenatal vitamins and fax these charts to your regular OB/GYN." The doctor, a woman in her early 40s, responded before printing out pictures.

At the hotel, Amanda was opening her eyes… and saw that Finn was still sleeping next to her.

Being as careful as she could, Amanda reached for her phone and answered the video call.

"Hey Kota." Amanda responded quietly.

"Hey. Arm still hurting? You never told us the severity of the injury." Dakota replied.

"Bruised the rotator cuff." Amanda explained, Dakota cringing in sympathy… and Finn waking up.

"Mornin, Kota." Finn responded, holding the phone to let Amanda wake up more.

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty." Dakota said.

"Funny. Hey, have you or the boys heard from Ashley today?" Finn responded, his right arm carefully wrapping around Amanda's shoulders.

"Um… seen her when she was leaving. Said something about running late for an appointment." Dakota explained.

"Hopefully she made it there safely." Amanda replied, absentmindedly rubbing her eyes.

"It probably wasn't something too serious, probably to make sure her back is okay." Dakota responded.

"Yeah." Finn responded before helping Amanda sit up and take the black and red sling and medical tape off, Amanda going to get cleaned off.

When they were ready for the day, they headed to the arena for the SmackDown taping… and Amanda was listening to _Tell It Like It Is_ by Don Johnson.

Seth was still limping slightly when he found her… and walked over.

"What now, Seth? Why can't you just leave me alone?" Amanda questioned after seeing him and rolling her eyes, closing out IHeartRadio and putting her earbuds away.

"Because you're keeping Ash away from me!" Seth responded.

"You screwed things up by hurting me… you either don't realise it or don't care but you betrayed Ashley by doing what you did. Why can't you just keep your damn temper in check and stop hurting me?! Finn actually cares about me, he's never gonna hurt me!" Amanda yelled.

"You say that now, wait til you're left all alone again and he's moved on to some other unsuspecting girl!" Seth responded angrily.

"The only one who hurts me is you, you've got yourself believing that I'm the one in the wrong for getting close to him when you threw me aside! You made a complete mess of your personal life and you have no right to control mine! I'm not your friend, I'm not your Shield Sister, I'm not a bedroom toy to you and I'm sure as hell not your girl! I was never any of those things to you because you lied to me every damn day for five years! All we are is just co-workers!" Amanda replied, Seth grabbing her by her _Balor Club_ hoodie… and losing his grip and yelling out, his hands going to his crotch as Amanda lowered her right foot before they heard multiple footsteps and Finn pulled Amanda to him as Hunter pulled Seth away from Amanda.

"I told you to leave Mandy alone!" Hunter growled furiously.

"She knows where Ashley is!" Seth yelled as Finn guided Amanda away from there.

"She doesn't have to tell you anything about Ashley! Her whereabouts aren't any of your concern!" Hunter responded.

"They are if she's got something to hide!" Seth yelled.

In the locker room, Finn was holding Amanda… and he could feel her shaking violently and rubbed his right hand up and down her back.

But he could tell it wasn't from rage alone… Amanda wasn't there completely, her mind was replaying the physical and mental trauma that happened two weeks ago, that Seth had inflicted.

"We're going home… you need to be away from him." Finn whispered before helping Amanda grab her things and the two leaving.

 _ **Two days later…**_

Amanda had finished getting ready for the day and Finn helped her put her arm in the sling when they heard a knock at the door… and he walked over, letting Matt and Jeff in.

"Ash called us, said you and Mandy came back home." Matt responded after closing the door, Jeff carefully hugging Amanda.

"Seth had tried to assault her again and she fought back… I'm worried that she's suffering from PTSD from all the times he's attacked her so I thought it was best if she was away from him so she can start to feel like herself again." Finn explained.

"Did Ash tell you guys what's going on with her?" Amanda questioned after she and Jeff let go.

"What kind of trouble has our sister got herself into now?" Matt asked.

"Now try to stay calm about this… Ash is pregnant. She kicked Seth to the curb the night he fucked up my head and shoulder and didn't find out until this past Monday." Amanda responded, Matt's and Jeff's eyes widening.

"So Seth doesn't know about their child?" Matt asked.

"As far as we know, no one's told him. And the fact that Ashley broke up with him has made him angrier, he won't stop lashing out at people." Finn responded, rubbing his right hand up and down Amanda's back.

"How many people know about this?" Jeff asked.

"Us, Hunter, TJ and you guys now." Amanda answered.

"So she tells surfer dude but not her own brothers?" Matt asked.

"I'm gonna use a word Ace commonly uses and that's outcasted. You two and your damn rivalry made your little sister feel outcasted, she felt like she had nowhere to turn to." Amanda responded, startling Matt and Jeff.

"So that's her reason for getting involved into the rivalry?" Jeff asked.

"And to try to stop you two from killing each other. I was stuck dealing with Dean's and Seth's rivalry for months and it got to the point where I couldn't take the tension anymore so I stepped back and let them fight. Dean understood that but Seth flat out refused to." Amanda explained. "You guys were acting like idiots, you weren't listening and paying attention to how much this was hurting your sister! I hope you get your damn heads on straight because this fighting is absolute bullshit! No one's right or wrong but you're family and you need to act like it!" She responded before she walked over to the door, opens it and the two got in their car and drove off.

Amanda slammed the door and Finn walked over, carefully wrapping his arms around her and holding her to him.

It was later into the evening that Finn and Amanda were out… Finn was driving and Amanda had her head on the headrest.

"You think I was too rough on the guys earlier?" Amanda questioned.

"Maybe a little abrasive but they needed to know how their fighting was making Ash feel… since they weren't listening to her when she told them to stop acting like idiots, they needed to hear it from someone… and Seth needed to hear what you had to say back on Tuesday." Finn answered as he lightly rubbed Amanda's left wrist.

And the more it started to sink it for Amanda, the better she felt about telling Seth what she had been avoiding telling him since things fell apart.


End file.
